Celebrating Black History All Year

Every February in the United States we celebrate prominent leaders and events in Black History. This year the focus on Black History is poignant and important in a different way, seen against the current backdrop of the social and political unrest. This February, many Americans are recognizing that we can no longer limit our attention to a month of superficial focus. Let this February be the moment when we begin a serious and ongoing recognition of Black Americans and their contributions to all sectors of society. Let us all commit to lifting up Black Lives and ensuring that this moment is more than a blip in our collective history.

Join Together We Will as we share 28 great podcasts, Facebook pages to follow, news, culture and commentary sites, and blogs that we think folks should be following. And then continue to connect, read, and converse the whole year. (http://twwusa.org/4867/black-history-month-2018/)

Donald Trump Is Still a Racist

Yes, it is still true. Trump gave his State of the Union speech last week. Many resisters chose not to watch but instead spent the time writing postcards to voters in districts that could be flipped in the November 2018 elections. If you want to participate, look for Facebook groups like FLIP Pennsylvania (or any state you are interested in), and Postcards to Voters to join the movement.

Devin Nunes Releases Memo–Rapid Response Teams Ready

One of the biggest stories this last week was really a non-story. Congressmember Devin Nunes (R – CA) released a memo he wrote as the House Intelligence Committee Chairman. The memo purportedly would highlight inappropriate actions taken by the FBI in the Special Investigation into Russian interference. But once the memo had been released, it became clear it held nothing of any significance, and was probably altered by Nunes after it was submitted to the House. You can read the full memo here.

In fact, many news outlets published analysis of the memo that showed it actually strengthened the case for the FBI’s investigations, if anything. The memo details some of the background in the FBI surveillance of Carter Page, former Trump adviser. The release of the memo required that Trump declassify the information it contained. Many felt this was irresponsible. But what else is new in the Trump Administration?

Resistance members who have been readying to carry out a massive demonstration in the case that Trump tries to fire Robert Mueller as special investigator, or his boss, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, saw this effort as a move towards discrediting Robert Mueller’s investigation. Teams are in place all around the country to speak out should either of these things happen. Lawmakers and citizens alike believe that Trump is not above the law. We must demand that our president be held accountable for his actions just as any citizen is. Find a rally in a community near you.

Get out the Vote! Join a group like ACLU People Power to help register voters, fight for election reforms, and encourage everyone to vote.

Jacqui Viale is an educator and activist living in Long Beach California with her husband, two teenagers, two cats, a dog and a lizard. Jacqui holds a masters in Educational Administration from California State University, Long Beach.